First Encounters
by chainspell
Summary: Akira didn't first meet Haru outside of school one day in September. He had ran into her several times before.


I came up with the idea that Akir and Haru could have interacted a few times off screen before she joined the Phantom Thieves. This could have helped build her character in the final game, while also making the player curious of her. I have about 3-4 ideas so I wanted to put them into a short collection. This was the first idea.

* * *

Akira noticed the planters the first time Ryuji told him to meet on the school roof.

A few took up a spare school desk, while at least half a dozen others were placed on the ground next to them. Each planter was neatly labelled with a purple marker in cute and neat handwriting, differentiating which planter was which. The ones on the desk were daisies and marigolds, the ones left on the ground were names that Akira had to look up on his phone-beardtongues and pineapple lilies. From what he could tell, the beardtongues would have to be moved to larger planters in the future, probably down to the flowerbeds by the school entrance.

He was waiting for Ann and Ryuji to show up, so they could go into Kamoshida's palace. The board meeting was only a handful of days now, and they were hoping to make their last push to the treasure today, as Morgana kept assuring them that they were fairly close.

"Who would bother trying to grow flowers on a school roof?" Morgana asked curiously, sliding out of Akira's bag onto the ground to sniff the pineapple lilies.

"It's probably a club," Akira said, crouching down on the ground to take a couple of photos with his phone. If the group was going to continue using this location for their hideout, it would be interesting to track the growth of the flowers, at least. The beardtongues could grow up to three feet tall if cared for properly, and by just a glance at the soil he knew that they were properly cared for. "These ones are going to have to be moved to a new planter in a while, they grow pretty big."

Morgana mewed, jumping onto one of the desks to stretch out, now being free from spending the day in Akira's desk or his school bag. "I didn't know you knew so much about flowers."

"There's a lot in the country," Akira said as an excuse, shrugging his shoulders and pushing himself up off the ground with his legs.

"A lot of what?"

It wasn't Morgana who asked him, but an unfamiliar voice. Akira turned around, sliding his phone into his pants pocket. A girl stood there a few feet away from him, holding onto a watering can with both hands.

If Akira had to pick one word to describe the girl, it would be fluffy. Her hair was an uncommon light brown color, and poofed out on either side of her face, similar in texture to clouds on an overcast day. She wore an oversized light pink sweater, with an enlarged collar and short puffy sleeves. Her leggings were white covered in little black stars, that shone just like her Mary-Jane shoes.

Akira slid both of his hands into his pockets and slouched in an attempt to make himself look smaller, for he wasn't supposed to be up here, after all. "Flowers."

"Oh," the girl said with a pause. "That would make sense!"

She strode past him slowly, approaching the planters. Morgana remained still as she walked past him, as if trying to blend in with his surroundings. She leaned over slightly, beginning to water the planters on the ground. "Are you interested in gardening?"

"A little," Akira said quietly.

"That's amazing!" The girl responded excitedly, moving on to water the soil of another planter. Akira straightened up slightly, relieved that she wasn't scolding him for being on the roof, but her next words were similar to what he was expecting. "Do you have permission to be up here?"

Akira shrugged his shoulders, but then realized the girl couldn't see it, as she was turned away from him. "No."

"You shouldn't be up here, then," the girl said sadly, pausing from her watering to place the watering can on one of the free desks. "And pets aren't allowed on school grounds, either..."

She turned and her eyes focused on Morgana, who had jumped off the desk and was now climbing up Akira's leg to get back into his bag. At the girl's acknowledgement, he froze, his claws digging deeper into Akira's pant leg and skin, causing him to wince.

"Is that the cat all the teachers have been looking for?" She asked, now meeting her eyes with Akira.

Akira nodded.

"I see," the girl paused, seemingly deep in thought. "Well, just be careful, okay?"

Without waiting for a response, she turned back to her watering can and continued to water the plants. Akira stood there quietly for several seconds, but figuring that she wasn't planning to get him in trouble, he set his bag with Morgana inside on one of the spare desks and sat on one of the others.

Why were Ann and Ryuji taking so long? Though, maybe it was a blessing they hadn't shown up yet. The girl might have been willing to overlook Akira, but if more people were involved, she was more likely to tell a teacher that he, Ryuji and Ann were meeting up on the roof after school.

"You're the transfer student, aren't you?" She questioned.

"Yeah," Akira said, not wasting time to respond.

The girl was quiet for several seconds. She finished watering the planters on the ground and moved onto the last few that were on the desk, now facing him. Her eyes appeared to be clouded, deep in thought after confirming this information. It made Akira feel a little guilty, she was probably scared of him like most of the other students. At the same time, though, there was anger too-only Ryuji had given him a chance in the beginning, even the teachers doubted him and figured that he was going to be no good.

"Have you made any friends?"

She surprised him. The question seemed genuine, as she looked at him with slight concern on her face, her lips drawn into a thin line.

"A couple," Akira said.

"And they're nice?"

The question was motherly, a conversation he imagined having with his own if she called him.

"Yeah, they are," he confirmed to her.

Her thin line turned into a broad smile. "That's wonderful! I'm glad you made some friends. I had heard about you and was worried that you'd have a hard time, everyone was making such terrible assumptions. Rumors are the worst, aren't they?"

Akira watched her movements carefully, as she finished pouring water into the soil of the last planter. He wondered if she knew that he was supposed to be expelled in a few days. If she did know, she was clearly too polite to bring it up.

She set down the planter on one of the spare school desks, and then rolled up the sleeve of her uniform and patted the soil gently, checking how moist it was. Satisfied with the first planter, her hand then began to check the one next to it.

"What's the kitty's name?"

Kitty was a childish word, something Akira expected a grade schooler to say. But it suited her, somehow.

Even though part of him wished the conversation would stop, she was pleasant to talk to. "Morgana."

"Morgana-chan," the girl repeated, cheerfully. "That's a pretty name!"

He smiled. "I'll be sure to let him know."

"I'm right here you know!" Morgana meowed from Akira's bag.

Even though Akira's response was unusual, the girl didn't seem to think so. She giggled as she glanced quickly over to Morgana, now satisfied with her work with the planters. She grabbed onto the watering can with one hand, now much lighter as it wasn't filled with water. "Well, I'm done up here. Don't stay too long, okay? If someone else catches you, you'll probably get in trouble."

"Don't worry," Akira assured her. "I'll be careful."

Content with the reassurance, the girl nodded her head and made her way towards the door. As she was about to pull it open, it burst open instead, right into her face, to reveal Ryuji laughing heartily with Ann right on his heels.

"It'll be fine, Ann, don't worry about it!"

"O-Ow," the girl whispered, gripping onto her nose. The watering can clattered to the floor, and Ryuji stopped and stared at the girl in horror, and Ann's look of slight annoyance turned into fury.

" _Ryuji_ -you have to be careful!" Ann scolded, pushing past him to approach the girl. "Are you...are you alright?"

The girl's shoulders were shaking. Akira got up from his seat and hurried over to take a look at her face. Ann flung her bag forward and was digging through it rapidly, repeating apologies to her, while Ryuji's face was slowly turning red. Her eye's were slammed shut, but a moment later the girl reopened her eyes and moved her hands away from her nose. It appeared to be fine, only a little red.

"I'm alright! I'm alright!" She said cheerfully, though her eyes were watering. Ann pulled out a package of pocket tissues from her bag, and Ryuji seemed to regain his composure and leaned down to pick up the watering can. "It was an accident, it's okay."

Ryuji handed the watering can over to the girl, avoiding eye contact with her, stuttering out apologies. Ann offered the pocket tissues, but she cheerfully dismissed them with a wave of her hand. The girl sent Ryuji a broad smile and spoke again. "I'm okay. I know it was an accident."

She gave a firm nod to both Akira and Ann to reassure them, then approached the door once more. The three second years stared at the mysterious fluffy haired girl as she gave them a cheerful wave goodbye with her free hand, and then hurried through the door off the roof and back into the school building.

"Who was that, Akira?" Ann asked curiously. Ryuji, still greatly embarrassed, was rubbing the back of his head and muttering to himself as he wandered over the abandoned desks.

"Don't know," Akira said. Morgana jumped out of his school bag, convinced that it was safe to reveal himself again. "She takes care of the planters up here."

"You-you don't think she's goin' to tell on us, is she?" Ryuji spoke nervously, still rubbing the back of his head.

Morgana laughed. "No. She seemed to like Akira, I think we're safe."

Ann seemed surprised. "Really? Are we sure?"

Akira thought of the girl's smiling face and gentle curiosity. She was the only person, besides Sojiro, to ask if he had made any friends. She went over each planter carefully, with deliberate care and consideration. "I think we're fine."

He just wished he asked for her name.


End file.
